January 13, 20189, is closer than you think. Yeah, I’m being that guy. But it’s only because I care and want to make sure you are prepared for those 26.2 miles!

Walt Disney World Marathon Training Tips

If you’re following the Galloway plan, it will be up on the runDisney website soon. It’s typically put up in late May or early June. And yes- it’s already May. Can you believe it?!

But this post is about what NOT to do when it comes to marathon training. Unfortunately, I speak from experience.

Ahem.

I ran my first marathon in January 2016. It was the best thing I’ve ever done… once it was over. If you’ve got the time, I’ve got the race recap here.

NOT a smoothie! HA! That’s a finish line margarita, folks.

It was NOT the best thing ever while I was doing it. Mostly because I wasn’t really ready for this.

I put the miles in.

Sorta.

And I had nutrition down.

Sorta.

And I had hydration covered.

Sorta.

I didn’t have it all dialed in, and I know it. Heck, I knew it then but wasn’t willing to admit it while I was on the course. I knew if I admitted it, I wouldn’t finish and that was just not an option.

I wasn’t sure I was getting back up after this one. That lie down was most welcome!

What Not to Do When Marathon Training

So where did I mess up?

I waited too long to commit to the distance. I respected it, don’t get me wrong, but I was too scared of it to fully jump in until early December. Then I put a lot of miles on my body in a short period of time. Don’t do that. I managed to finish and didn’t get injured, but it was dicey.

I didn’t even try to eat healthy during my training. It was the holidays, and man, who wants to watch what they eat then? A marathoner. That’s who.

Don’t underestimate hydration in the weeks leading up to the race. I knew the course would have plenty of hydration for us, but I did not pay attention to the weeks leading up to the run. I landed in Florida feeling the humidity and knowing it was too late to do much about it.

The next time I run a marathon, you can bet your favorite running shoes I’ll be better prepared.

Comments

I’ve definitely been considering a marathon, but then I took like 2 months off of running. And I know I’m not ready for the commitment yet. I’m trying to get nutrition, etc. on point and keep up other workouts this summer. Then, see if I can keep a commitment to a half marathon training (because I never FULLY) do. THEN maybe a marathon. Maybe.

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About Patty

If she isn’t running after her four kids in Northern Virginia, Patty is running after four bars on her phone to share her authentic and fun stories about runDisney. There’s nothing quite like running through a Disney theme park with 20,000 of your closest friends!